Severn Trent has announced its half-year results on Thursday. The water and waste utility company has seen an increase of over 4% in its half-year underlying profit.

Group turnover was recorded as £881.5 million, which is up by £30.5 million year-on-year. Additionally, the company has an underlying profit of £299.1 million, which is a 4.3% increase of £4.1 million year-on-year.

The proposed interim dividend was increased by 7.9% to 37.35p, in line with its Asset Management policy.

Long-term, Severn Trent has made significant progress on its capital programme.

Moreover, it is investing in renewable energy with the acquisition of Agrivert food waste plants adding an additional 106GWh per year to its current portfolio.

Chief Executive of Severn Trent Liv Garfield, who recently commented on Theresa May’s Brexit plan, said:

“Our job is to deliver for all of our stakeholders – our customers, colleagues and investors – and by that we don’t just mean delivering high-quality waste and water services. We want to make a fundamental difference in society and in the communities we serve. As such, we’re delighted to be one of a handful of companies, and the only utility, to be acknowledged as a Pathfinder Company by the Purposeful Company organisation and we look forward to developing our approach to this further in the future.”

“I’m pleased to be sharing a good set of financial and operational results in what has been a very busy first half of the year. The performance culture we have embedded into the organisation continues to deliver strong performance for our customers, also providing a great platform as we head into AMP7. As we plan and invest for the future, we are on track for our biggest year of capital spend in a decade, with more than £300 million invested in the first six months to improve performance for our customers today and for generations to come.”

“Building a lasting legacy is a key priority for us and we believe our PR19 plans will deliver what our customers have asked for while maintaining the right balance of affordability and future investment”

The report highlights the summer period between June and July as one of a considerable operational challenge.

As a result of the scorching summer, which saw UK spending soar, significantly strained the company’s assets. Despite this, the company was able to respond to the 22% increase in demand for water by customers.

Shares in Severn Trent Plc (LON:SVT) were trading at -0.26% (1555GMT).